Welcome to a new episode, this week I want to focus on attempting to answer one of the most common and complex questions I get about LinkedIn….Premium accounts – are they worth it? More of that later…… Interesting Stuff I Saw This Week <ul> <li><a href= "https://blog.linkedin.com/2019/january/17/New-Ways-to-Keep-a-Pulse-on-the-Companies-You-Care-About" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New Ways to Keep a Pulse on the Companies You Care About</a></li> <li><a href= "https://www.cbronline.com/news/microsoft-earnings-call" target= "_blank" rel="noopener">Five Things We Learned from Microsoft’s Earnings</a></li> <li><a href= "https://business.linkedin.com/marketing-solutions/blog/linkedin-news/2019/introducing-interest-targeting" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Introducing Interest Targeting</a></li> <li><a href= "https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6496008466883235840" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LinkedIn Articles versus LinkedIn Posts/Updates</a></li> <li>Could it be that ‘Trending content in your area’ might actually be paid ads! Listener Mark Lee got in touch with this message “I saw a post on my home page yesterday. Linkedin was showing it to me allegedly because it was ‘Trending in London’. This was odd for two reasons. Firstly it contained a link to a newspaper article (so encouraged me to leave the Linkedin platform). The other reason it was odd was that the article was not able to be viewed by anyone outside the USA. So why was it trending in London? I don’t think it was. But equally, why would a foreign newspaper (or anyone else) sponsor a link to an article that can’t be viewed by the people who see the link? What is going on here?</li> </ul> For the rest of the show notes go to https://linkedinformed.com/episode237Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.

Welcome to a new episode, this week I want to focus on attempting to answer one of the most common and complex questions I get about LinkedIn….Premium accounts – are they worth it? More of that later…… Interesting Stuff I Saw This Week New Ways to Keep a Pulse on the Companies You Care About Five Things We Learned from Microsoft’s Earnings Introducing Interest Targeting LinkedIn Articles versus LinkedIn Posts/Updates Could it be that ‘Trending content in your area’ might actually be paid ads! Listener Mark Lee got in touch with this message “I saw a post on my home page yesterday. Linkedin was showing it to me allegedly because it was ‘Trending in London’. This was odd for two reasons. Firstly it contained a link to a newspaper article (so encouraged me to leave the Linkedin platform). The other reason it was odd was that the article was not able to be viewed by anyone outside the USA. So why was it trending in London? I don’t think it was. But equally, why would a foreign newspaper (or anyone else) sponsor a link to an article that can’t be viewed by the people who see the link? What is going on here? For the rest of the show notes go to https://linkedinformed.com/episode237 Mentioned in this episode: This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.

Welcome to a new episode, this week I want to focus on attempting to answer one of the most common and complex questions I get about LinkedIn….Premium accounts – are they worth it? More of that later…… Interesting Stuff I Saw This Week <ul> <li><a href="https://blog.linkedin.com/2019/january/17/New-Ways-to-Keep-a-Pulse-on-the-Companies-You-Care-About" rel="noopener noreferrer">New Ways to Keep a Pulse on the Companies You Care About</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.cbronline.com/news/microsoft-earnings-call" rel="noopener noreferrer">Five Things We Learned from Microsoft’s Earnings</a></li> <li><a href="https://business.linkedin.com/marketing-solutions/blog/linkedin-news/2019/introducing-interest-targeting" rel="noopener noreferrer">Introducing Interest Targeting</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6496008466883235840" rel="noopener noreferrer">LinkedIn Articles versus LinkedIn Posts/Updates</a></li> <li>Could it be that ‘Trending content in your area’ might actually be paid ads! Listener Mark Lee got in touch with this message “I saw a post on my home page yesterday. Linkedin was showing it to me allegedly because it was ‘Trending in London’. This was odd for two reasons. Firstly it contained a link to a newspaper article (so encouraged me to leave the Linkedin platform). The other reason it was odd was that the article was not able to be viewed by anyone outside the USA. So why was it trending in London? I don’t think it was. But equally, why would a foreign newspaper (or anyone else) sponsor a link to an article that can’t be viewed by the people who see the link? What is going on here?</li> </ul> For the rest of the show notes go to&nbsp;https://linkedinformed.com/episode237Mentioned in this episode:This show was created by the original host of the show, Mark Williams.

Should You Be Paying For LinkedIn?

"Informed" is for you if you'd like to understand more about how LinkedIn works so that you can be an effective user of the platform. 

It's hard to know whom to believe with so many self-appointed gurus out there telling you the latest hacks for going viral and earning 7-figure deals. And even LinkedIn's own publications often don't speak to the reality of using the platform.

But for those who see past superficial promises and sanitised reports, this podcast provides evidence and thoughtful opinion. With a track record of more than 10 years of sensible, no-nonsense advice about honest best practice for LinkedIn, Informed is a trusted source of insight by many thousands of regular listeners. 

The show was created by Mark Williams, who's affectionately known as "Mr LinkedIn". Mark retired in late 2025 and handed over the reins of the show to John Espirian, the relentlessly helpful® LinkedIn nerd. John is a LinkedIn trainer and consultant, the founder of the Espresso+ community, the creator of the UpLift Live conference (the UK's original event dedicated to LinkedIn best practice), and the author of the personal branding handbook Content DNA.

John's reputation is for getting to the point and for not being a salesy douche canoe, so you can expect short, sharp episodes with zero ads or sponsored slots. This also is NOT an interview show, so if you've read this far then please don't pitch yourself for a guest appearance. However, you're welcome to get in touch if you have a LinkedIn question you'd like John to cover on the show. (To do that, search for the "Informed podcast" company page on LinkedIn and send a message.)
 
This podcast is not affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by the LinkedIn® corporation. John Espirian is an independent trainer and does not work for LinkedIn® – while it would be great to have LinkedIn's endorsement, the show's independence from the corporation means you, the listener, are never fed an airbrushed political spiel.

Business

Education

Self-Improvement

Marketing

"Informed" is for you if you'd like to understand more about how LinkedIn works so that you can be an effective user of the platform. It's hard to know whom to believe with so many self-appointed gurus out there telling you the latest hacks for going viral and earning 7-figure deals. And even LinkedIn's own publications often don't speak to the reality of using the platform. But for those who see past superficial promises and sanitised reports, this podcast provides evidence and thoughtful opinion. With a track record of more than 10 years of sensible, no-nonsense advice about honest best practice for LinkedIn, Informed is a trusted source of insight by many thousands of regular listeners. The show was created by Mark Williams, who's affectionately known as "Mr LinkedIn". Mark retired in late 2025 and handed over the reins of the show to John Espirian, the relentlessly helpful® LinkedIn nerd. John is a LinkedIn trainer and consultant, the founder of the Espresso+ community, the creator of the UpLift Live conference (the UK's original event dedicated to LinkedIn best practice), and the author of the personal branding handbook Content DNA. John's reputation is for getting to the point and for not being a salesy douche canoe, so you can expect short, sharp episodes with zero ads or sponsored slots. This also is NOT an interview show, so if you've read this far then please don't pitch yourself for a guest appearance. However, you're welcome to get in touch if you have a LinkedIn question you'd like John to cover on the show. (To do that, search for the "Informed podcast" company page on LinkedIn and send a message.) This podcast is not affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by the LinkedIn® corporation. John Espirian is an independent trainer and does not work for LinkedIn® – while it would be great to have LinkedIn's endorsement, the show's independence from the corporation means you, the listener, are never fed an airbrushed political spiel.

"Informed" is for you if you'd like to understand more about how LinkedIn works so that you can be an effective user of the platform. 

It's hard to know whom to believe with so many self-appointed gurus out there telling you the latest hacks for going viral and earning 7-figure deals. And even LinkedIn's own publications often don't speak to the reality of using the platform.

But for those who see past superficial promises and sanitised reports, this podcast provides evidence and thoughtful opinion. With a track record of more than 10 years of sensible, no-nonsense advice about honest best practice for LinkedIn, Informed is a trusted source of insight by many thousands of regular listeners. 

The show was created by Mark Williams, who's affectionately known as "Mr LinkedIn". Mark retired in late 2025 and handed over the reins of the show to John Espirian, the relentlessly helpful® LinkedIn nerd. John is a LinkedIn trainer and consultant, the founder of the Espresso+ community, the creator of the UpLift Live conference (the UK's original event dedicated to LinkedIn best practice), and the author of the personal branding handbook Content&nbsp;DNA.

John's reputation is for getting to the point and for not being a salesy douche canoe, so you can expect short, sharp episodes with zero ads or sponsored slots. This also is NOT an interview show, so if you've read this far then please don't pitch yourself for a guest appearance. However, you're welcome to get in touch if you have a LinkedIn question you'd like John to cover on the show. (To do that, search for the "Informed podcast" company page on LinkedIn and send a message.)
 
This podcast is not affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by the LinkedIn® corporation. John Espirian is an independent trainer and does not work for LinkedIn® – while it would be great to have LinkedIn's endorsement, the show's independence from the corporation means you, the listener, are never fed an airbrushed political spiel.

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Should You Be Paying For LinkedIn?

Should You Be Paying For LinkedIn?

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